5 Things
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: Five things no one but Nod knows about Ronin.
1. Gender Roles

Gender Roles: Ronin's a Good Cook

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Epic or any of its characters.

In the Jinn world, cooking was generally seen as the female role. Male's cooked, of course, but it wasn't something one typically thought of as "manly". So, with that in mind, most Jinn didn't think that Ronin, the famous General and stalwart leader of the Leafmen, would take part in such a feminine activity. However, Nod knew that Ronin not only cooked, but excelled at it.

Ronin hadn't always been skilled in the culinary arts. In fact, Nod could remember a time when Ronin's pantry was mostly full of candy and leftover take-out. That had been before Nod's Dad had died. Back then, Nod had always looked forward to eating dinner at Ronin's because that meant that they'd be having fast food.

But then Nod's father had died and Nod had gone to live with Ronin. For the first week or so, they'd lived off of take-out and casseroles from friends. And then, seemingly overnight, Ronin's pantry had become filled with normal food. Cookbooks took the place of manuals on battle strategies and Ronin studied these new books just as hard as he had the old. Home-cooked meals became the norm.

Nod hadn't understood it at first. Initially, he was in too much grief to care what they ate and, then, all he knew was that eating at Ronin's (which he did every night now) no longer meant eating fast food. The meals were good, but Nod still would have prefered eating out. Ronin, however, was adamant that they keep take-out to a minimum of once a week. And, over-time, Nod grew into something of a foodie, not being able to truly enjoy a meal at Nim's because he knew that Ronin's version of the same food was better.

It was only when Nod got older that he realized that Ronin had completely changed his lifestyle so that Nod would grow up healthily. Maybe everyone else would think that Ronin cooking his own meals was a sign of weakness, but Nod thought it was the manliest thing that he'd ever witnessed.


	2. Priorities

Priorities: Tara's not the Most Important Person in Ronin's Life.

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Epic or any of its characters.

When Nod was younger, he hated the Queen. In his mind, he'd gone from being the center of his Father's world to being second in Ronin's. And the person taking up first place was most definitely Tara. Nod had overheard his Father teasing Ronin about his feelings for the Queen and, after Nod went to live with Ronin, Ronin was always going away because "The Queen had a very important mission". It wasn't fair!

But then, one day, Nod got sick. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to keep him in bed almost all week. Ronin was guarding the Queen (okay, technically he was escorting the Queen to a Ball which was taking place in a relatively controlled environment, but that was besides the point) at the time Nod fell sick. However, when the school sent word to the General that his godson was sick, Ronin promptly had Finn stand in as bodyguard and was at the school to pick Nod up in less than a half hour.

Nod had been laying down on a cot in the Hospital Wing, face buried in a pillow so the bright lights wouldn't make his headache worse, biting his lip to avoid moaning at the pain that seemed to spread throughout his entire body, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't looked up at first, sure it was just the healer wanting him to drink some icky medicine. But then he felt himself being scooped up into strong arms and Nod blinked his eyes open, only to see Ronin's familiar face looking down at him in concern.

"Hey, buddy. Heard you're not feeling so good."

"Ronin?" Nod asked. "Thought the Queen needed you."

"She did. But you need me more." As miserable as he was, Nod couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority. Ronin had left his post, left the _Queen,_ for _him_!

Nod sniffed. "Everything hurts. My throat's sore. My nose is stuffy and I want to go home."

"We'll be there soon, kiddo."

"Will you stay with me?"  
"Of course."

For a whole week Ronin stayed with him. Reading to him. Telling him about his father. Letting Nod eat whatever food he wanted and as much of it as he could manage. When Nod was ready to go back to school, Ronin offered to take more time off, in case Nod relapsed, but Nod assured him that that's okay. After all, Tara must have known by now that she was second in Ronin's life. The least Nod could do was let her have her General some of the time.


	3. Good

Good: Ronin's Not Entirely Good

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Epic or any of its characters.

Everyone looked up to Ronin. In the view of the Jinn, Ronin was the epitome of everything that the Jinn were supposed to be. Brave. Loyal. Good. But Nod knew that Ronin wasn't quite as good as the rest of the Jinn would like to believe.

Nod learned this one day, when he was old enough to stay home alone, but still quite young. Being the godson of the Queen's most trusted General came at a price. From the time he lost his father to the present day all of Moonhaven knew who Nod was. Or at least who he was in relation to Ronin. And not all who knew this meant them well.

Nod had come home one day to find that, despite their home's extensive security system, a strange jinn had managed to break in and was waiting for him. Nod soon had a knife to his throat and an arm around his waist. They waited for hours, just out of sight. Any discussion was discouraged by the point of the blade digging in just the slightest.

Finally, Ronin had returned, calling out Nod's name. Only after the door had been closed and locked, did the intruder nudge Nod forward. Ronin's face had filled with fear. It only lasted a second, and then Ronin had schooled his features into a mask.

The intruder had ordered Ronin to put his hands behind his head and the General had. The intruder ordered Ronin to take him to some where some files were being kept and Ronin had slowly led the way to a safe in his bedroom, the intruder pushing Nod in front of him as he followed, knife never leaving Nod's throat. After Ronin had opened the door and removed the file, the Intruder had ordered him to slowly turn around and hand him the file. Ronin had obeyed. And, as the intruder leaned forward to `take them, the hand holding the knife slipped away from Nod's throat.

In an instant, Ronin had grabbed the intruder's arm, Somehow, he maneuvered him so that he fell away from Nod. And then Ronin was on top of the strange jinn, pounding his fist into the intruder's face. It would have only taken one, maybe two punches for a trained soldier like Ronin to knock the jinn out. But Ronin kept hitting him. And hitting him. And hitting him until, eventually, he'd slumped forward in exhaustion. Rolling off the body, Ronin had fallen down next to it onto the floor. Nod had ran forward, throwing himself into Ronin's arms, and Ronin had held him tight, lying there for almost a half hour before lifting the two of them up and going to summon the rest of the Leafmen.

Ronin had told the others that he had killed the jinn in a struggle. From what Nod had seen, it hadn't been much of a struggle. But he had backed up Ronin's story nonetheless. Ronin might not have done the right thing, but he had done it because he couldn't stand to see anyone hurt Nod. And maybe Ronin wasn't entirely good, but if that was Ronin's worst crime, Nod didn't mind.


End file.
